Pauline fell ill for the first time when she was fifteen years old. What seemed like a simple urinary tract infection turned into joint pain and then acute appendicitis. After a routine operation, Pauline lost all strength in her legs. Shortly thereafter, the spasms began. However, her tests were completely normal: her symptoms appeared to have no physical cause whatsoever.

It may be an extreme case, but Pauline is not alone. One third of people who visit their doctor present medically unexplained symptoms. In most of these cases, we can suspect the existence of an underlying emotional cause, which, however, is often the last thing the patient wants to hear and the doctor wants to express.

Although we typically have no hesitation in admitting feelings such as excitement or anxiety, there are certain secrets that, under specific circumstances, we are all capable of keeping from ourselves. In this journey into the very real world of psychosomatic illnesses, Suzanne O’Sullivan uncovers some of these secrets.